After the Meeting- Feb 24,2009

Well it is After the Meeting and we had a blast to say the least. Marge and I used the club to settle a minor dispute. She sent me the following email: (excuse the caps… she is not yelling… her lower case key is broken on her computer)…

“NOW AS YOU KNOW, I’M NOT A NORTHERNER, I’M FROM WYOMING.    AND IN WYOMING, A HAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WEAR ON YOUR HEAD THAT HAS A BRIM COMPLETELY AROUND IT.   NOW A CAP, ONLY HAS A BILL, OR JUST HALF AROUND IT.    WANTED TO MAKE THAT COMPLETELY CLEAR……… WE ALWAYS CALLED THE HAT,    

Hat

 

 

 

 

Cowboy Hat

 A COWBOY HAT, NOT A COWBOY CAP.    NOW WHEN NED WEARS THE CAPS, LIKE BASEBALL, OR AIKEN WOODCARVERS, THAT IS A CAP.       BRING THIS UP AT THE MEETING,   WOULD LIKE TO GET THAT CLEARED UP.                TEE HEEE.       THAT WILL BE A GOOD TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION THIS TUESDAY, SINCE WE TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM MOTOR OL;, ON UP.                                   M “

 

So me being from the south, where anything that one wears on the head is a hat took up the challenge. I checked with “Wikipedia” the online encyclopedia as the final authority on the subject on “headgear.” They said that, and I hate to admit it… Marge is correct. Generally speaking a hat has a rim all around it, a cap does not.

 

But we, the Aiken Wood Carvers Club, being an open-minded group set out to determine what type of head gear could we name. We had pictures of 14 different headgear from around the world and the carver who named the most… won a set of carving tools donated by www.WoodZone.com , your online carving store.

 

The winner after all of the dust settle was Chuck Spilman who named 7 of the 14. Chuck by the way, also showed up in his new wheels, a special access van. Less than 100 miles he is doing his part for the economic recovery. Heated leather seats for Mrs Spilman, assisted driving tools for Chuck. It even has hydraulic which raise and lower the van. But, don’t expect to see Chuck at any of those auto shows where they see whose car can bounce the highest.

 

One of the biggest surprises was Marvin. Marvin, beleive it or not is carving a flower. A Hibiscus, to be exact.

 

 

Vic has almost finished his boot and it is looking pretty good.

 

 

 Desmond is carving a piece of basswood from Woodzone and practicing saying,”Cheerio!” Everybody try…. say “Cheerio.!” Good.

 

 

 Matt is considering a tattoo of either the Aiken Wood Carvers logo or the Gadson Flag… I think our logo is more dramatic. Maybe an Aiken Wood Carvers poll is called for?

 

 

 Ned is Ned and Tommy trying to weather the hard economic times by carving scrap wood and found wood. Can’t afford to buy any.

 

 

The Duke was all quiet… not bothering anyone. Sat by Marge. Couldn’t keep her quiet, though. (He-he)

 

Missed you if you weren’t there!

 

 

 Also, I host a website for the local carving cub, the Aiken Wood Carvers Club at www.aikenwoodcarvers.org. We’d love for you to stop by.

That’s all for now…. “Cheerio!”-    Jack

 

After the meeting…

Well, it After the Meeting…  We met Tuesday.  Mark Fox was his usual insightful self, always a moment away to provide a clever commentary from the cobbler’s viewpoint. Due to his contact with Aiken’s people, he is a barometer of the community. Maybe next week his family won’t abandon him…

Poor Ray (Smitht), his little puppy was the victim of a saboteur. But due to the excellent detective of yours truly, I determined the perpetrator most likely to be Sonya. That’s my story.

Bill Brown will be undergoing surgery, keep Linda in your thoughts. Seriously, Bill hope all goes well.

It was good to see Des back… he had issues returning a purchase, though. Out of country drivers license. Is there a Hobby Lobby in Ontario to return an item?

Ned and Marge will be seperated at next weeks meeting. We will have assigned chairs for them so they don’t fight & fuss. Maybe John Hills wife could start an intervention class for them before things get out of hand between them. What do you say?

Till next time… Jack

Ethics in Wood Carving

I’ve considered the issue of carving ethics for some time, actually since the beginning of my carving career.  One question which comes up from time to time is: What are the ethics involved in regards to copying another carvers patterns or carving, photograph, etc?

First, let me begin by saying  “.. there is no new thing under the sun.. Ecclesiastes 1:9″ . So if one ascribes to that baseline, everyone copies.

Most carving magazines and how-to books have patterns which the expectaion is that the user will copy and use tha pattern for personal use. Many other books limit the number of patterns one is authorized to make as up to ten patterns. The purpose of these limitations is to prevent an artist’s design from being mass produced or resold, the personal use clause. Genrally, one should have no issue placing coppied carvings in local /regional carving shows and offering them for sale to the local public.

Major shows such as the Ward,  Eastern Carolina Wildlife, Southeastern Wildlife Expo the artists work is expected to be his/her orginal work.

Shows such as our Artistry in Wood, places such as Charlotte, Orangeburg, Piedmont, Johnson City do not have such issues unless the artist claims the work to be their own design and it is discovered to be otherwise. Well, that would be unethical.

There is an interesting legal case ongoing right now. Artist Shepard Fairey created the now famous poster of the now President Barack Obama, based on a photo taken by an Associated Press, photographer. He admits to using the photograph, but says he transformed it into something entirely different than it originally.

Others photographs & paintings are considered intellectual property of the photographer/painter and may not be copied without the permission of the owner. That’s the law. You can use them for inspiration, just dont copy if you intend to offer for sale. Until next time…. Jack